This invention is directed to pant-like, personal care absorbent products that are stretchable in both a transverse direction and a longitudinal direction.
Pant-like absorbent garments, such as adult incontinence wear as well as infant and children""s diapers, swim wear and training pants, typically have some degree of stretchability in order to conform to a wearer""s body. Present diapers, for example, have stretchable side panels with non-stretchable outer covers, body side liners and absorbent assemblies. When this type of diaper is worn, only the side panels stretch. The stretchable side panels provide a limited degree of stretchability in a transverse, or cross, direction.
A certain degree of stretchability in a longitudinal, or machine, direction is typically provided by leg elastics surrounding leg openings in the crotch region of an absorbent garment. However, this stretchability around the leg openings can undesirably result in a bulky, baggy area in the non-stretchable center of the crotch region. Furthermore, the movement of fecal matter is not restrained within the absorbent garment, hence fecal matter is free to move up the back of the absorbent garment, resulting in great discomfort to the wearer, in addition to a mess for a care giver to contend with.
There is a need or desire for a stretchable, form-fitting, pant-like, personal care absorbent garment that delivers an optimal amount and direction of stretch to provide optimal fit and comfort.
There is a further need or desire for a pant-like, personal care absorbent garment that restricts the movement of fecal matter within the garment.
The present invention is directed to a pant-like, personal care absorbent garment having three-piece construction to deliver machine and cross direction stretch in various regions of the garment. The garment provides enhanced fit and comfort during use, and ease of application with a self-adjusting feature.
The three-piece construction includes distinct front, back, and crotch panels. The front and back panels each stretch in a transverse, or cross, direction to provide a continuous waist force. The crotch panel stretches in a longitudinal, or machine, direction to provide adjustability of front panel positioning, ease of application, and self-adjusting fit after fastening. The stretchability in the longitudinal direction provides extra space for waste and provides additional length for movement and comfort without compromising overall fit.
The three separate panels may or may not be of the same materials. When the three separate panels are of the same material, the piece of material used as the crotch panel is rotated 90 degrees from the pieces of material used as the front and back panels. Seams joining the front and back panels to the crotch panel provide non-stretch zones that may be positioned to control fit forces. The non-stretch zone provided by the seam joining the back panel and the crotch panel can provide a force band to prevent fecal matter from moving up the back of the garment. The non-stretch zone provided by the seam joining the front panel and the crotch panel allows expansion of the abdominal region without affecting the fit below the abdomen, thereby maintaining front waist positioning.
In order to enable the garment""s ability to stretch in the transverse and longitudinal directions, the remaining garment components must be able to expand in the corresponding directions. The three-piece construction can be applied to either the outer cover or the body side liner or both the outer cover and the body side liner. Extensibility of an absorbent layer can be accomplished in a number of different ways, including the use of elastic components, attaching absorbent material to a pre-stretched elastomer and allowing retraction before assembly, pleating the absorbent material, or using sliding absorbent panels which may or may not overlap.
With the foregoing in mind, it is a feature and advantage of the invention to provide a form-fitting, pant-like, absorbent garment that delivers an optimal amount and direction of stretch to provide optimal fit and comfort.
It is another feature and advantage of the invention to provide a pant-like, absorbent garment that restricts the movement of fecal matter within the garment.